New Moon
by glitterlagoon
Summary: A year after his best friends death Sirius Black is happily married with a pregnant wife, but the return of Remus Lupin is about to change all of that. Wolfstar.
1. Chapter 1

**First of all, let me explain a few things. This fic is set a year after Lily and James are killed. However, this time Peter was arrested and put in to Azkaban whilst Sirius rightfully continued life as a free man. Meanwhile, Remus moved to Paris for a year, and this story begins at his return.**

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><p>October 1982<p>

Remus Lupin was hurrying down the rain flecked pavements of Spindler Street. Every now and then a street lamp would bathe him in a yellow mist, making his mop of mousy hair glow and the the thin, ragged scars that lined his pale cheeks and curled around his jaw glimmer like strands of gossamer ribbon. His shabby robes swirled around his ankles as he walked, and it could not be clearer that Remus desired to leave the canopy of the stark nights sky and reach the safety of his destination.

In one hand Remus clutched his wand, though he kept it discreetly hidden beneath the folds of his cloak. He knew that he was being slightly paranoid by having it out, but he'd spent a year away from London and now it was as if Remus had lost his trust in the place. In his other hand he held a crumpled scrap of parchment, on which an address had been written in thin, slanting writing.

The first sheets of drizzle began to drift down from the stars, and Remus was glad to see that his journey had finally come to an end. In front of him stood a row of quaint looking three storey town houses. Most of the dozens of windows before him stared back, blank and faceless, but in the middle house one of the windows on the middle floor was flooded with light. Somebody was awake.

Remus made his way up the short flight of stone steps that lead to the front door, raising his fist and rapping on it before erupting in to a fit of coughing. Two days back in England and already he had a cold. Remus weakly thumped his chest in an attempt to compose himself. Inside the house he heard a lock sliding open, and the door opened just a crack. Whoever it was behind the door staring at Remus with the most stunning blue eyes he had ever seen. They were pale in colour but seemed to glow brighter than an orb.

"Hello?" a womans voice said nervously.

"Hello," Remus said, "I'm looking for Sirius Black."

"Sirius?" the woman's voice repeated.

There was another clanking sound and the door opened fully to reveal a woman. She was dressed in a denim shirt which was splattered with paint. Her dark hair was piled messily on top of her head, and she had tucked a thin pencil behind one of her ears. Remus could just make out the discreet curve of a bump beneath her shirt. The hallway behind her was empty and lit by one single light bulb, which dangled barely from the ceiling. A pair of ladders leaned against one wall.

Remus was aware that the woman was still staring at him. He extended his hand to say, "My name is Remus Lupin. I'm an old school friend of Sirius's."

The woman's eyes expanded as if something had suddenly dawned on her, but before she could speak there came a great roar of "Moony?" and before any of them knew it, Sirius Black himself came bounding down the hall. He threw himself upon Remus, catching him up in a great hug and swinging him around on the doorstep. Remus emerged coughing and flushed. Sirius was grinning.

"Happy to see me?" Remus enquired hoarsely.

Sirius chuckled. "I've missed you, mate. Come in!" he said.

Remus stepped in to the house, taking off his damp cloak. The dark haired woman took it from him with a smile. "I'm Euphemia, but call me Effie or I'll hex you," she said.

"I'm a married man now, Moons," Sirius explained, winding an arm around Effie's waist.

"Congratulations. Since when?" Remus asked.

"May," Sirius replied, "A lots happened since you left. You'd know, if you had let me write to you."

Sirius was still been friendly, but there was an edge to his tone. Remus might have been separated from his friend for a year, but he'd spent enough time with him in the past to sense that he was hurt and a little angry. Effie seemed to as well because she said, "I'll put the kettle on. Well, if I can find the tea cups."

"We've just moved in," Sirius explained as he lead Remus down the hall and in to the living room, which smelt strongly of fresh paint and was filled with dozens of boxes and one solitary sofa.

Effie returned quite quickly, clutching two jam jars filled with steaming tea. "Take it or leave it," she said, passing them over.

"No airs or graces here," Sirius said to Remus with a wink.

"We need to tackle that dodgy wall paper in Harry's room tomorrow, so I had better go to bed," Effie announced.

"Harry's here?" Remus cried.

"I'll explain," Sirius promised. He kissed Effie on the cheek and she disappeared from the room.

"Harry's here?" Remus repeated.

Sirius nodded. "He was supposed to go to the Dursley's, I know. And he did - for a while. Then Dumbledore paid a quick visit one day, took one look at the situation the poor sod was in and wrote to me straight away, asking if we'd take him in. There was no way I was going to say no," he explained.

"Situation?" Remus repeated sharly, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing too bad," Sirius said quickly, "But his crib - if you could call it that, nothing more than an orange crate apparently - was under the stairs, and their piglet of a son used to push him around like a rag doll. There wasn't a thieves chance in Gringotts anyone was going to let Harry stay there."

"Bastards," Remus said beneath his breath. He only ever swore when he was truly angry, Sirius remembered. The corners of his mouth twitched in to an almost smile. He had missed Remus a lot.

"He loves it here though. Effie really dotes on him," Sirius added cheerfully, "Wait until you meet him Rem, he's James's son all over."

"And Peter? Still in Azkaban?" Remus said.

"Yep. Where he belongs, the treacherous little…" Sirius took a sip of his tea.

"What about Effie?" Remus asked, swiftly changing the subject, "Where did you meet here?"

"She's a good friend of Andromeda's. I was always round at her place, moping, and one day she introduced me to Eff," Sirius explained. Remus shifted guiltily.

"Marriage was a bit sudden though, wasn't it?" he said, "Or was it love at first sight?"

Sirius laughed. "She's just different. She's what I need," he said.

"I'm really happy for you, Padfoot," Remus said. And he was.

"Wow, nobody's called me that for a while," Sirius said, "Thanks, mate. And I'm about to be a dad! Four months gone. Bit unexpected, but I'm getting used to the idea."

"Oh Jesus. A mini Sirius Black running around, is that what the world really needs?" Remus said in mock horror.

"Anyway, your turn now," Sirius said, "How was Paris? Why didn't you let me write?" The hurt tone was back.

Remus sighed. "I wanted to get away. I know it probably wasn't the best thing to do, swanning off to Paris with everything that was going on… I'm sorry," he said.

"I just worried about you, that's all," Sirius confessed quietly.

"I was fine," Remus insisted, "First night there I ran in to two wizards - brothers, Jacques and Marc Vermonté. They put me up for a while. Found me some work."

"And your… furry little problem? How was that?" Sirius enquired.

"I got lucky. I ended up telling Marc. I felt I owed it to him, what with him putting me up. He knew where I could get Wolfsbane potion. Dirt cheap too, compared to over here," Remus explained happily.

"And now you're back?" Sirius said.

"It was time. Work was drying up in Paris, I was missing London. So I came back two nights ago. Went straight to Dumbledore and asked about you. He gave he the address for this place," Remus said.

"I'm glad to have you back, mate," Sirius declared, clapping Remus on the back, "You can kip here if-"

"Oh, I didn't mean-" Remus began.

"Come off it!" Sirius cried, "I know you didn't, but I'm not having you out on the streets. You'll be in the guest room. The _best _guest room. I wouldn't have my Moony put up in anything less."

Remus sighed and grinned. "Cheers," he said.


	2. Chapter 2

There were no curtains in the second floor spare bedroom, and so when the sun filtered in through the bare window Remus abruptly found himself wide awake. He stretched in the patch of warm sunlight that had spread itself over him, and watched the dust motes dance in the streams of morning sun before getting up and dressed. It was still quite early, so Remus crept quietly down the stairs in to the kitchen, though he needn't have bothered because when he got there he found it was already vacated by Effie. She wasn't alone; strapped in to a highchair was a child that Remus knew could be nothing other than a product of James and Lily Potter.

"Harry!" he gasped.

Effie shrieked, almost dropping the stack of plates she had been unpacking. She whirled around.

"Oh! Remus its you," she said breathlessly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you," Remus replied.

"Tea?" Effie offered.

"Please," Remus said. He went over to the highchair and brushed his fingers beneath Harry's chin.

"Lovely, isn't he?" Effie beamed as she filled a kettle with water.

"Spitting image of James," Remus said, his eyes raking the shock of black hair and the glittering green eyes, "Except-"

"His eyes," Effie said, "He has Lily's eyes. Sirius says it every time he looks at him."

Remus smiled. "Can I?" he asked. He unstrapped Harry from the chair and picked him up. Harry chuckled and began playing with the buttons on Remus's shirt.

"He was two this past July," Effie chatted whilst she poured out two cups of tea, this time in actual tea cups.

Harry pushed his hair back from his head, and upon doing so revealed a thin scar on his forehead. It looked like a bolt of lightning and appeared to have only just healed properly. Remus lightly brushed his fingers across it. "Is that where…" he whispered.

Effie's eyes darkened. "Yes," she said bitterly, "The only mark he came away with."

"It's incredible," Remus said, "That he survived, I mean."

They settled down around a collapsible garden table for breakfast, and after Sirius had joined them it was time to start work on the wallpaper. Remus noticed that Effie seemed to prefer to do all of the decorating without the use of magic, and when he asked her about it she explained, "I feel like I'm putting more love in to it if I do it by hand. I want this house to be our home."

Sirius rolled his eyes at her but still obligingly picked up a Muggle wall paper scraper. Harry played around their ankles as they worked, picking up the scraps of wall paper and throwing them in to the air again so that they flew around the room like patterned birds. A Muggle stereo played in the corner, and Remus learnt that it had once belonged to Effie's father. It surprised him that she was a half-blood - not that it mattered at all to him. Remus guessed that the stereo was turned on a lot, because Sirius knew all the words to the Muggle songs.

"Do you really want to hurt me?" He crooned, "Do you really want to make me cry?"

As he sang he nuzzled up to Effie playfully with the expression of a kicked puppy. She stuck out her tongue at him. "Lift me up will you? I can't reach that top bit," she demanded. With surprising strength, Sirius wrapped his arms around the bottom of her legs and carefully brought her up to rest on one of his shoulders. He wobbled around, pretending to almost drop her.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that for much longer," he panted. Effie hit him over the head lightly with her scraper. Sirius clutched her wrist and kissed her.

"Sorry," she said, turning to Remus, "You must want to vomit."

Remus laughed. "Not at all," he insisted.

"What about the birds in Paris, Moony?" Sirius asked, "Were they magnifique?"

"Er, they were all right," Remus said as he became particularly interested in the wall in front of him.

"Never kiss and tell, eh? Always the gentlemen," Sirius teased.

"You know me," Remus said with a forced little laugh.

"If you ever want to bring anybody back here, feel free," Effie said.

"As long as she isn't a dog," Sirius chimed in.

Remus could feel himself going hot. "I'll keep that in mind. Tea, anyone?" he said.

He shuffled over to the kettle and prayed that the conversation would have changed by the time he returned.


	3. Chapter 3

The post arrived promptly at eight the next morning. Sirius watched the tawny owl soar towards his kitchen window, and when it slowed down to delicately tap its beak on the window he let it in. Attached to the owls leg was the usual Daily Prophet, which Sirius tossed on to the table, and a bundle of letters bound in string. Sirius quickly flicked through them, until he came to the last letter and realised that it was addressed to Remus. The handwriting was large and swirly, not to mention unfamiliar.

Sirius quickly glanced over his shoulder before using his wand to slit the letter open. He could always reseal it later, nobody would ever know. To intrigue Sirius further, he scanned his eyes over the words and realised that the letter was completely written in French. Sirius smiled to himself smugly; he hadn't escaped one of the most aristocratic families in the wizarding world without learning a few other languages first.

_Dearest Remus,_

_I'm worried sick. You promised to write as soon as you reached London, why haven't you? I had to contact your friend Dumbledore to find an address, and he told me that you are staying with your old friend Sirius. I think I recall you speaking about him… But you called him Padfoot? Anyway, I hope that you are in safe hands. I miss you. It is as if the moon has quite literally been snatched from my skies. I know that you grew restless in Paris, but please don't leave it too long until your return. I will wait for you. Jacques keeps telling me to stop sulking, but I can't get you out of my head. You find your way in to my every thought, so much so that I catch myself having conversations with you in my mind. You think I'm crazy, don't you? Don't tell me to forget you Remus, because I know that I can't. _

_Put me out of my misery. Write back._

_All of my love,_

_Marc._

Sirius heard footsteps on the stairs. He knew they weren't Effie's steps, which meant that it could only be Remus. Sirius resealed the letter and stuffed it back to the bottom of the pile. By the time Remus entered the room he was busy paying the owl.

"The post just arrived…. there's something for you," Sirius announced.

"Really? Thanks," Remus said as Sirius passed it over. He watched Remus carefully for any signs of shock, but there was none. Remus calmly read over the address then smiled.

"I think I'll just open it later," he said.

"Really?" Sirius said, "I think that you should open it now… could be important, you never know."

Remus scrutinised Sirius with suspicious eyes. "I'm sure it's not," he said, tucking the letter in to his pocket.

Sirius began to change the subject when he noticed a fleck of toothpaste foam on Remus's top lip. "Er, you've got a bit of…" he said.

"What?" Remus asked, oblivious.

"Toothpaste. There," Sirius explained, gesturing on his own mouth.

Remus began poking his lip with his tongue. "Did I get it?" he said.

"Not really… a bit more to the left…" Sirius said. Usually he'd have no problem wiping the toothpaste off of Remus's face for him, but now… Sirius wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt weird around him.

"Got it!" Remus announced happily, finally managing to lick the toothpaste away.

Sirius shook his head distractedly. "Brilliant," He grinned.

Remus turned around and Sirius shook his head again. Honestly, what was his problem? He'd coped all of those years with the knowledge that one of his best friends was a werewolf, but he couldn't deal with the fact that Remus was also possibly… gay? Sirius wanted to ask, but then he couldn't let Remus know that he'd been reading his post. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions, maybe he'd just read the letter in the wrong way, but it had sounded so…

"Sirius? I said, do you want some toast?" Remus said loudly.

"What? Oh, yeah. Please," Sirius muttered.

"Everything all right?" Remus asked in concern.

"Everything's fine!" Sirius insisted, he paused, "Actually, forget that toast. I need to get to work."

"Still in Auror training?" Remus enquired.

"Yep. You'll be all right here with Effie, won't you?" Sirius said.

"Of course," Remus said happily.

Sirius nodded and jetted out of the kitchen with an awkward smile. He passed Effie in the hallway, and kissed her quickly on the cheek before leaving. Effie went in to the kitchen. "Just us today then," She smiled.

"We should take Harry out for the day," Remus suggested.

"Great. I need to take a trip to Diagon Alley anyway," Effie said.

They caught the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley, Harry in tow, since it wasn't deemed safe for pregnant women to Apparate. For the first time it weeks the sun was shining, and it was pleasantly warm for October. Harry had just began toddling, and Remus patiently held his hand as he walked shakily down Diagon Alley.

"You're brilliant with children. Maybe I'll have to rope you in as a baby sitter when this little ones born," Effie said, patting her stomach.

Remus found himself intrigued by Harry; how he was fascinated by everything he saw, the way he beamed cheekily at every smiling stranger they passed. Remus noticed that Effie seemed to flatten Harry's hair a lot, as if she was trying to protect him. He thought he knew why; the lightning scar was obviously a huge give away to Harry's real identity, and what two year old wanted to be mobbed by strangers on the street?

Despite the fast bond he was developing with the boy, Remus couldn't ignore the dull pain in his chest. _It should be James and Lily showing him off_, he thought. A wave of rage suddenly coursed through him. He hoped Peter Pettigrew rotted in his cell. He wished him nothing more than a slow, painful death.

"Remus, are you all right? You've gone a bit pale," Effie said.

"Sorry," Remus said, "Got a bit lost in my thoughts."

"Let's stop at the Leaky Cauldron for some lunch before we go home," Effie suggested.

"Of course," Remus said, swooping Harry up so that he began laughing raucously. Effie smiled.

"I'm really glad you've come to stay with us, Remus," she admitted, "Sirius seems so much happier already."


	4. Chapter 4

**This is a slightly long chapter, got a bit carried away. Thank you for your lovely reviews!****  
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><p>The letter lurked in the back of Sirius's mind all day like some irritating wasp, and by the time he was walking through the door that evening Sirius knew he couldn't contain himself any longer. He found Remus in the living room reading the paper. He looked up when Sirius entered.<p>

"All right?" Remus asked.

"Where's Effie?" Sirius said conversationally. As he spoke he picked up an ornament from the mantelpiece and spun it around in his fingers.

"Upstairs, giving Harry a bath. Good day at the office?" Remus enquired.

"Moony, there's something I need to ask you," Sirius announced. He went over to the door and glanced down the hallway before shutting it.

"Oh… can I start by saying I didn't do it?" Remus laughed nervously.

Sirius gave him a tight smile. "It's nothing big. In fact, maybe its not worth mentioning at all…"

"Sirius," Remus said sharply, "You know I hate it when you do that. Tell me."

"Fine," Sirius sighed, "The thing is, I might have, sort of accidentally… on purpose… read your letter."

Remus went very quiet for a moment. Then, "Oh," he said, "You did, did you."

"I'm sorry," Sirius groaned, "It was just the handwriting was all loopy, and it was in _French_. It just had the air of mystery, and all that." He waved his hand airily.

Remus sighed. "I suppose there's no point in being angry with you now. So, did you just want to tell me? Or…"

"I wanted to ask you about Marc," Sirius explained, "You said he was just a friend - and I might be jumping to conclusions here - but he seemed pretty smitten, mate.

"Marc and I were… we were close," Remus said with a shrug.

"Moony," Sirius sighed, coming over to sit on the sofa, "If you're… you know, gay, then just say. _I _don't have a problem with it. Jesus, I've put up with your furry little problem for all of these years, haven't I?"

"It's just I haven't quite come to terms with the idea myself yet. Marc helped me to realise who I really am. He was my first… everything," Remus explained slowly, "I was going to tell you. I just didn't want things to be awkward between us."

"Things could _never _be awkward between us!" Sirius insisted, "All right, I'll admit I felt a little shaken this morning, but I've thought about it and I've realised that it really doesn't matter. Moony, we've ran around a forest naked together. We can deal with anything."

The corners of Remus's mouth twitched.

"Are you going to tell Effie?" Sirius asked, "Or is it a bit too soon for you?"

"Tell Effie what?" Effie said as she came walking through the door. Remus and Sirius froze.

"Nothing," Sirius said quickly.

"What's going on?" Effie asked suspiciously.

"It's nothing," Sirius said.

"The thing is-" Remus began.

Sirius cut in quickly, "The thing is, Remus is-"

"A werewolf," Remus finished, "I'm a werewolf, Effie."

"Oh!" Effie squeaked.

Her startled eyes flitted over him, and Remus knew she was sizing him up, looking at him in a completely different light. It was a gaze he had only been accustomed to a few times before, and it still made Remus feel uncomfortable. Beside him, he could feel that Sirius had grew stiff, as though his world too also hung on this very moment.

"I understand if you don't want me here. You obviously don't want that sort of danger under your roof, and I respect that," Remus mumbled. Inside his heart was attempting to catapult in to his throat.

Eventually Effie cleared her throat. "Is it controlable?" she asked.

"I have my ways, yes," Remus nodded.

"Well then," Effie concluded, her eyes softening as she managed to smile, "I don't see any reason why you should have to leave."

Remus felt all of his anxiety melt away. "Thank you," he whispered, "You don't know how grateful I am."

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><p>Remus was just drifting off to sleep when he heard the bedroom door creak open, and a chink of light fell across his face. Groggily, he opened his eyes to see Sirius hovering over him. "Whasamatter?" Remus grunted.<p>

"I want to show you something," Sirius whispered.

"Is this really the time?" Remus said wearily.

"This, Moony, is the _perfect _time," Sirius said. His grin shone in the dark. Looking less than pleased but otherwise intrigued, Remus dragged himself out of bed.

Sirius lead him down the hall and up the stairs to the top floor, where he, Effie, and Harry slept. They paused outside a door. "This is the part where you have to be _really_ quiet," Sirius explained. Fingers pressed to his lips, he opened the door. They entered a bedroom, and when Remus glanced over at the bed he saw Effie there sleeping. He gave Sirius a questioning look, which was replied with a silent shake of head and a beckoning hand. It was then that Remus realised they were walking towards a set of French doors.

Sirius opened them, and a rush of crisp October air blew in to the room. Effie stirred in her sleep and Remus quickly followed Sirius out of the doors, which he closed. They were out on a small balcony. The concrete ground was strewn with dead leaves and vines crept over the crumbling balcony rail. It looked as if nobody had visited in years. However Remus was too spellbound by the view before him to notice how derelect his surroundings were.

From where he stood Remus truly believed he could see not only the whole of London, but the rest of the world too. Millions upon millions of lights twinkled like stars, though they were masked by a hazy veil of city smoke. The ever threatening presence of the moon lurked behind a shadow of clouds, but even this wasn't enough to put Remus at unease. Here, he was the most contented man alive.

"I told you now was the perfect time," Sirius said.

Remus twitched. He had almost forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Why did you tell Effie that you're a werewolf?" Sirus asked.

"I suppose it was easier than telling her I'm gay," Remus shrugged, "Like I said, I'm still coming to terms with it."

Sirius shook his head. "I'll never understand you. Still, she took it well. No harm done," he smiled.

He began patting the pockets of his over coat, searching for something. Finally he extracted a battered packet of cigarette along with an elaborately patterned Muggle lighter.

"Fancy a smoke, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Those are bad for you," Remus tutted.

Sirius's eyes glittered. "Ah, but us humans do find, dear Moony, that the things that are bad for us are also the things that we cannot entirely deny," He said softly. Remus could only stare at his old friend, a coy smile playing on his lips.

Sirius slipped a cigarette in to Remus's slightly open mouth, and, when he heard no sound of protest, lit it. Remus inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes, letting thick waves of smoke pour lazily from his mouth. Sirius laughed.

"God, I've missed this," Remus muttered, "Absolutely everyone in Paris smoked. It killed me."

"Give in to temptation," Sirius shrugged easily. He leaned on the balcony to gaze at the view.

Remus smiled, watching him. "That's something you've always found so easy, isn't it?" he said, "Playing by your own rules."

"What's life without a little risk?" Sirius mused. Remus joined him at the balcony.

"Reminds me of old times," he said, "When the four of us used to sneak around, smoking. We'd take it in turns to keep watch. And that time! (Remus now had an excited smile on his face) The only time Filch ever caught me. I'd have had it if it wasn't for James and his quick wit."

Remus had stopped smiling now.

"I spend all of my time remembering," Sirius confessed, "It was the only thing that stopped me from cracking up, in the beginning. The four of us. You, James, me… Peter."

"I still can't believe it," Remus said shakily, "Pete. How he… what happened, Padfoot? What went so horribly wrong?"

"I ask myself every day," Sirius said, a hard grit in his voice, "If I had known, would things have turned out different? I don't know, Moony. I really don't know."

A silence drifted between them once more. The suddenly Sirius walked from the balcony. Remus watched as he lay down on the floor.

"Padfoot!" He hissed, "What are you doing?"

"You can see the stars better this way," Sirius said simply, "Lie with me, Moony. Come on."

Remus raised a skeptical eyebrow. Hesitantly, he lay down beside Sirius, though the opposite way, so that his top was Sirius's bottom. They lay in the quiet for a while, listening to the screech of police cars below and the gentle whisper of the wind that intervened. Then Remus felt Sirius grip his hand.

"It's just us two now, mate," Sirius whispered.

Despite himself, Remus smiled.


End file.
